The Jewish child : its history, folklore, biology, & sociology / by W.M. Feldman ; with an introduction by Sir James Crichton-Browne.

Feldman, W. M. (William Moses), 1879-1939.

Date:: 1917

Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Credit: The Jewish child : its history, folklore, biology, & sociology / by W.M. Feldman ; with an introduction by Sir James Crichton-Browne. Source: Wellcome Collection.

164/492 (page 130)

$130 The Jewish Child [chap. It did not take long before the weaker one died of shame, and very soon after the stronger one died from septi¬ caemia due to putrefaction of the dead sister.^ Hermaphroditism. The following abnormalities are described and minutely discussed : {a) Andróginos, an hermaphrodite in whom both the male and female organs of generation are seen externally.^ According to the Midrash, Adam was an adroginos.® (Ò) Tumtum, an hermaphrodite in whom neither of the organs of generation can be seen except by dissection/ It is recorded that many androginoses first married husbands and gave birth to children, and then married wives and had children.® Pliny speaks of an andró¬ ginos as being utriusque naturae, inter se vicibus coeuntes.® According to Maimonides, such a person ought not to give levirate or chalitißh? Such a child must be circumcised on the eighth day, but no benediction is to be recited. And if the eighth day happens to be Sabbath-day, the ceremony is to be postponed. Note,—True hermaphroditism, though existing in the vegetable world {e.g,, the first twenty classes of the Linnsean system of plants), and also existing in some щ lower animals, such as molluscs and certain worms, is | never found in higher animals, especially man. (The whole hermaphrodite idea was probably purely Greek mythology.) ^ Quoted by Dr. Tobia Katz, Maase Tobia, p. 69a, cols. 1 and 2, ^ Boraitha, at end of Bikurin. ^ Gen. R. v. 1. ^ Chagiga, 4a, Rashi; Yebam. 71b; Baba Bathra 126. ® Maase Tobia iv. 5. ® Hist. Nat., vii., ch. ii. 7. ^ Bülchoth Yibum vi. 2.$